Eyewitness News reporter NJ Burkett has the story.
The allegations are unspeakable. Four teenagers under arrest, charged with first-degree forcible rape.
Investigators say it was a father who stumbled into it, returning to the family apartment to find an 11-year-old and 13-year-old being sexually assaulted by four local teenagers.
"It is a very sad, sad, sad day for me," neighbor Jacob Massaquoi said. "My heart is broken."
Massaquoi runs a local after-school program and knows one of the suspects.
"He is a very, very quiet and humble little kid," he said. "And I can't believe he would do something like that."
Police say the two girls suffered injuries consistent with rape trauma. Although no weapons were used, investigators say the suspects used their size to overpower the girls.
No one answered the doors at the homes of any of the teens today, and although they are not strangers to the victims, the precise relationship could not be confirmed.
Prosecutors say all are refugees from the west African nation of Liberia, part of a growing Liberian community on Staten Island, struggling for a better life in the United States.
Neighbors say the assault was tragic.
The incident happened Wednesday afternoon at around 3:30.
Authorities have identified the suspects as 16-year-old Patrick Gross, 17-year-old Danny Davis, 17-year-old Leelah Pewu and 18-year-old Nicky Toe.
Police say all four are students at Tottenville High School. They are being held on bail.
